Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were treated in utero with a liquid ethanol diet (Lieber-DeCarli diet). Pair fed (Lieber-DeCarli diet without alcohol) and ad lib controls (Purina Rodent Chow) were also run. Ethanol treated rats gave birth to fewer pups than either the pair fed controls or the ad lib controls. The ethanol treated rats were not good mothers in that they ate most of their offspring that were born alive. There was a significant increase in the numbers of stillborn animals in the alcohol treated animals. The pair fed controls had fewer pups than the ad lib controls but they were good mothers with only one stillborn being recorded in the pair fed group. No stillborns were seen in the ad lib control group. One pup that was treated in utero with ethanol had convulsions after weaning and died three months after birth.